Worth It All
by Jesusfollower97
Summary: Peeta Mellark has a nightmare and his wife, Katniss Mellark, is there to help comfort him. But there is much more to be learned about each other then just what they dream about tonight. **Trigger warning** This is focused around Peeta's time in The Captiol. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Neither "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", or "Mockingjay" books, or movies belong to me. **

**A/N: What's up guys! This is a short three chapter story that I wrote years ago, it was very difficult for me to re-write (for personal reasons) but I thought that you all might find it intriguing. I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!**

****WARNING!** This story revolves around the re-telling of Peeta's time in the capitol and so there is some torture in this. It will not be too graphic though. But read at your own risk!**

"_You may have just cost us the war."_

"_Peeta!"_

"_You will regret that, boy."_

"_Peeta! You're okay!"_

"_Break him."_

"_PEETA!"_

I jump wide awake at the third desperate cry from my wife, sweating and shaking.

My eyes dart around the room frantically assuring myself that I'm home… I'm safe. _Now._

I exhale loudly and fall back against the pillows, rubbing my hands over my face and through my disheveled hair before turning my gaze on my beautiful wife of twelve years.

I force a small smile and raise a still slightly shaking hand to caress the side of her face. "I'm sorry, Katniss. Did I hurt you?"

With barely concealed tears in her eyes, she shakes her head and takes my hand off her cheek in favor of grasping it with her own and laying a comforting kiss on my knuckles. "You haven't cried out in your sleep in a long time…"

I run my thumb softly over the back of her hand. "I haven't dreamed about that memory in a long time." I look into her eyes with guilt, "I'm sorry. I woke you up didn't I?"

She shakes her head, wavy raven hair falling over her shoulders, before nestling back down into my side. "Do you want to talk about it? You haven't told me much about what happened, Peeta." She props herself back up for a few seconds, "I keep imagining everything that happened and I hate what I think of. I need to know what really happened. I think it would help us both."

I close my eyes and sigh deeply, "I know… and I'm sorry, it's just that-"

The soft, sweet, full lips on mine take me by surprise but it's a welcome one so I don't protest. Instead, I kiss back gently before she slowly pulls away to look in my eyes. "What is it?"

I run my fingers through her hair and look deeply in her breathtaking gray eyes and whisper, "I don't want it to be too much for you to hear. It's… not pretty."

She smiles and lets out a soft chuckle, "Still trying to protect me?"

I pull her lips down to mine and kiss her passionately before pulling away and breathing out, "Always."

She smiles and gives me another sweet peck before sitting up and sobering. "Peeta… please tell me. I can handle it. You don't have to tell me everything that happened, right now. How about you just start with the memory your dream was about?"

The weight of the memory threatens to overwhelm me again and I shut my eyes tightly and rub the heels of my hands into eyelids. But I take a few steadying breaths, drop my arms to my side, and begin.

**A/N: Sorry to stop it there! But never fear! I already have the next (and last) two chapters ready! :) The heavy stuff starts next chapter. You have been warned.**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: Ain't Mine.**

**A/N: Here is part two! Only one part left! Enjoy the emotional roller coaster! (haha) OH! And in this version, Peeta was NOT hijacked. He was physically tortured only.**

****WARNING** This is where the memories start. This was hard for me to write so I know that if you have had any prior experience with similar things- this is not for you to read. (Honestly I didn't want to read it) So, you have been warned.**

"_And you in thirteen…. dead by morning!"_

_I manage to get the suicidal message out right before I am grabbed by the two peacekeepers that stood at the ready for a situation such as this. _

_The camera is knocked over by a third but I am only aware of that for a moment before I feel a burst of pain erupt in my head and I cry out from the brutal strike. Laying on the floor, I can only curl into a protective ball and watch the descending feet, fists, and black sticks as they come raining down on me._

_I scream out as I feel the, unfortunately, familiar current of electricity course through my veins with a burning vengeance for several seconds._

_Panting and twitching, I am hauled to me feet. Only to come face to face with the snake king himself. _

_President Snow._

_Hate and defiance run through me and cause me to spit the blood filling my mouth on my captor's immaculate white shoe._

_He sneers at me and nods to the guard holding me on my right. _

_Not even a second later, the club is swung firmly once more- and this time it hits it's desired target. I barely have the breath to make more than a whimper as the club snaps at least three of my ribs. Head bowed, I keep my gaze locked on the ground as my eyes fill with unwanted tears._

_A white glove appears for a moment before my line of sight, before the serpent's fingers get a death lock on my chin, and force my head up so that I'm looking right into his enraged eyes._

"_You may have just cost us the war." Snow says coldly._

_I let out a bark of laughter (that does not help my ribs) and say boldly, "That was the idea."_

_Snow lets go of my chin and straightens up. "No. You know, and I know, that your goal was to save your precious fiancéé. You will regret that, boy."_

_He summons over a peacekeeper that I recognize as one in command. "Change of plans." Snow looks directly into my eyes and smiles as he says, "Send them now." _

"_NO!" I shout and struggle in a surge of blind fear in my guard's hold. The soldier nods and leaves to give the orders immediately. _

_Snow continues to smile as he saunters back over. _

_I glare daggers at him and my shaking is no longer from the pain, but from anger. _

_He looks at me in mock concern and tuts, "Now, now. You shouldn't take on so Mr. Mellark. We both knew nothing would come of this rebellion. And as for Ms. Everdeen, let's just say that she was never a real threat. She's disposable, just like everyone else. Like you."_

"_And you." I add._

_His countenance darkens dramatically and, still looking me dead in the eye, he says to the peacekeepers, "Break him."_

_My arms are then forced behind my back and I feel the cold metal of handcuffs being roughly locked around my wrists before I am taken back down to the cells and torture chambers._

_I'm marched past the first few empty cells and when we start to approach my cell block I get the fleeting hope that they might allow me a few hours to myself before they begin, but that hope is dashed as we pass by without decreasing in step once. _

_We pass Johanna's cell and I glance at her to see her head snap up at the approaching footsteps. But once she sees that it's not someone coming for her, her anger comes back full force and she rushes up to the bars and screams curses at the guards vehemently. And just as we arrive at the room that Johanna most commonly inhabits, she changes tactics and shouts encouragingly to me, "Don't give in, Peeta!" But I don't even have the time to look back at her before I'm shoved in. _

_The process of removing all my clothing (save for my boxers) is done in a practiced flash by the guards before they chain my ankles together and my arms to an overhead chain and lower me over the water tank. Since this is not the first interrogation I have experienced in here, they do not bother to explain how the process works again before the chain is released and I am plunged into the deceptively harmless water. It's not even two seconds before the fierce electricity is pulsed through the water and into my defenseless body. I cannot contain the scream that is ripped from my chest as the torture begins. I am pulled back up by the chain and I cough up the water that found it's way in while I try to get air back into my deprived lungs. _

"_Mr. Mellark what is the rebels strategy?" The monotone capitol guard drills promptly. _

"_I… Don't… Know." I pant out and take a big lungful of air before I am instantly dropped back in. _

_Plunge. Electricity. Pain. Surface. Interrogation. Repeat._

_Plunge. Electricity. Pain. Surface. Interrogation. Repeat._

_Plunge. Electricity. Pain. Surface. Interrogation. Repeat._

_Plunge. Electricity. Pain. Surface. Interrogation. Repeat._

_Plunge. Electricity. Pain. Surface. Interrogation. Repeat._

_On the last one they always switch tactics:_

"_What is the rebels strategy?" He drones boredly again, like what he was doing was normal._

"_I. Don't. Know." I grind out through clenched teeth._

_They lower me only so that my feet and ankles are submerged. This way they can hear my cries of pain, and have quicker responses._

"_What is the rebels strategy?" He repeats._

"_I don't know!" _

_The binding fire of the shock captivates my whole body and a strangled cry is forced from my throat._

"_Mr. Mellark, What is the rebels strategy?" He interrogates again._

"_I told you I don't frickin' know!" I shout in utter frustration._

_They finish with an even higher shock voltage and my vision goes black. The agonized scream that is torn from my abused lungs I am not even able to register as my own. I shake and pant desperately for air, but can't seem to get enough. And before I even fully realize what's happening, I gratefully pass out. _

**A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger…. no, actually I'm not… hehe. Just read the next (and last chapter already! Shesh! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: If I were a llama and **_**you**_ **were a llama… *takes breath* I still wouldn't own it.**

**A/N: Alrighty! Last chapter tributes! I hope you enjoyed this story… I honestly had a VERY hard time writing it all but… the meaning of the story I think is worth a flashback. Hope you like the last part! See ya at the end!**

****WARNING** More torture.**

_Crack!_

"_Wake up, prisoner." I hear, accompanied with a lash of the usual whip._

_I jolt fully into awareness to find myself in a different room and on my knees facing the familiar metal whipping post. _

_Crack!_

_Another sharp bite of the whip slices into my back and I jerk forward as I clench my jaw to the point that it might break. _

"_Oh I'm sorry." The guard behind me mocks, "Did I hurt you?" _

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_In triplicate succession the whip lashes me and I grip the chains securing me to the post above my head as I screw my face up in pain. I don't want to give them the satisfaction of hearing my pain if I can help it. _

_After forty more lashes, I am leaning entirely on the post, drenched in sweat, breathing shallowly, and my blood covered knees ache deeply._

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_Crack!_

_I finally am not able to hold back an intensely pained moan from slipping from my cracked and blood stained lips._

_The guards behind me laugh at my pathetic form. "Do you want it to stop _victor_?" He spits the title out as he throws the whip to the ground and I hear his footsteps go to a corner of the room and he picks something up and walks back over with it. "Well then let me clean you up." _

_My entire body stiffens and tries to lurch away from the contents being poured over my back as I scream in indescribable agony from the fire burning me alive. And for the first time, I beg. "Stop! Oh gosh… stop. Please. Just stop." _

_Tears are pouring down my face unabashedly as I try to breath and get the stinging to lessen. "Oh come on, it was just salt water. What could be so bad about that?" Both of the men laugh together. "You're such a wimp. A weak failure. Couldn't even keep your girl safe. Oh well, doesn't matter now. She's probably found another lover to have her way with now. And I don't blame her. Any one's better than you. No one wants you. No one will miss you." _

_I don't fight their words… I know they're true. I even said them myself to Katniss in the arena. 'No one needs me.' Suddenly a soft voice that I would recognize anywhere whispers in my head, "I do. I need you." I smile and let out a breathy chuckle as I remember when she told me those exact words. _

_The guard who said the words comes over to my side, grips my hair, and pulls my head back to look at him. He has a look of confusion as he asks, "What's wrong with you? Are you cracking already?" _

_I glare at him triumphantly and say, "You're wrong. That's not true. Someone would miss me."_

_He snarls at me and throws my head from his grip and into the post in frustration. "If that were true, then why has no one come for you yet?" _

_I stare back at him over my shoulder as he picks up a different whip and reply, "Because something much bigger and more important than me is being fought for right now."_

_The guard raises his eyebrow in irritation and tiredly asks, "Oh yeah? And what's that?"_

_Smiling at him, I answer one word, "Hope."_

Katniss lays on my chest trying her best to restrain her sobbing and is failing spectacularly. "Shh… It's okay, beautiful. I've got you. It's okay."

She pulls away in aggravation, her face red and tear streaked. "Why are you comforting me?! I should be comforting _you_!"

She buries her face in her hands this time and I sit up and coax her back out from behind them. "Hey, hey, look at me beautiful." She looks up reluctantly. "I'm okay. You got me out of there, remember?" I joke, only to be given her signature scowl. I cringe. "Okay, not funny. Sorry."

"Peeta, it just feels so wrong to me that everyone gave me so much credit because I was "The Mockingjay" when in reality…" She places one hand behind my head in my hair and the other on my chest. "You were the _real_ Mockingjay Peeta. You were my symbol of hope for a better life, well just for life, all of my life."

She sits on her knees and places a slow, soft kiss on my cheek. "You showed me that when things are darkest there is still life, when you gave me the bread." She kisses my chin. "You showed me that loving another person was not a weakness, but a strength in the first and second games." She kisses my other cheek and lets her hand wander over my stomach muscles. "You came back to me after going through hell and you showed me then and you're still showing me that if we have hope, that no matter what we suffer, our hope is worth all of it." She hovered over her lips over mine and smiled. "You showed me all that Peeta."

I looked at all my wife's beautiful features and asked in a whisper, "I showed you that?" She nodded and closed the hairs distance between our mouths. I placed my hand gently in her hair as she fisted her hands in mine and lost myself completely as I caressed all the familiar, and endearing burn scars and freckles on my still-hard-to-believe-wife.

Pulling away for air I leaned my forehead against hers. "Do you know what was my hope when I was there?" Katniss shook her head. I opened my mouth to answer when we simultaneously heard two young and sleepy voices whispering outside of our door. We froze and waited until a knock or departing footsteps were heard… It was the former.

The timid knock sounded on our bedroom door followed by a quiet, "Mommy? Daddy? Can we come in?" After Katniss slid off my lap, I called out to our daughter, "Come on in, Willow."

Our seven year old daughter came walking in right away pulling her three year old brother, Rye, in after her by the hand and climbed up from the foot of our bed without a second thought, leaving our toddler son with his fingers in his mouth and a puzzled expression on his face of how he would get up. Laughing lightly I bend over and easily scoop Rye up onto the bed in between his mother and I.

Rye snuggled up against my chest and smiled up at me with a slobbery, sleepy smile. I looked over at Willow leaning against Katniss while she tried to braid our daughter's frazzled hair, and I reached over with my free hand and took her left.

She looked at me with a content smile and I glanced one more time at our children and then said softly, "This was what I hoped for. And this is worth it all."

**THE END.**

"**For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." -Romans 8:18**

**A/N: WHOO HOO! It's done! I stayed up ALL night rewriting this story! I really hope you liked it! :D Please don't forget to tell me what you thought in the reviews! Thank you so much for reading! And, as always, Loads of love~ V**


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